The post The Hub Exhibition and Open Space appeared first on Childline Thailand.

The post Germany’s First Lady visits The Hub Saidek appeared first on Childline Thailand.

Hub Update วันนี้

กับการตรวจสุขภาพประจำเดือนกุมภาพันธ์ที่ผ่านมา

ณ โรงพยาบาลกลาง และโรงพยาบาลตากใบ

ทางพี่ๆ สายเด็กได้นำน้องๆ ไปตรวจสุขภาพเพื่อเตรียมความพร้อมสำหรับการทำกิจกรรมต่างๆ และเพื่อใช้เอกสารทางการแพทย์ประกอบการสมัครงานในอนาคตของน้องๆ ผลสรุปว่า น้องๆ มีสุขภาพที่แข็งแรงดี พร้อมกับทุกกิจกรรมเลยค่ะ

#สายเด็ก1387 #saidek1387 #Hubupdate #วัยรุ่นร้อยอาชีพ #ตรวจสุขภาพ #เตรียมพร้อมร่างกายและใจ

 

The post #Hub Update appeared first on Childline Thailand.

During March and April staff observed a drop off in children using the service as many homeless youths were infected with Covid. The Hub provided access to free ATK tests for those children suspected of having an infection. Between January and June, 39 regular service users recorded positive tests. One reason for this is a low vaccination rate- the Hub’s research showed that only 30% of children they gave assistance to had been vaccinated. The main reason being that youths were unable to access register for the vaccine due to technology and paperwork problems.

Children in street situations often have no way to isolate themselves, or don’t have enough money for effective prevention or treatments, resulting in outbreaks amongst the homeless population. The Hub helped to mitigate this situation by distributing an average of 45 Covid-19 Survival Bags per month and additional consumables, ATK tests, masks, medicines and health and financial assistance.

In the first half of 2022, children mostly used three services at the Hub: Daily meals, education and registration for classes/exams, and participating in life skills development activities. The Hub also provides career support for children who have committed to a full-time job by giving small grants between 1500-4000 baht per month to improve their living situation.

The Hub staff have observed that sexual exploitation has shifted online, often in exchange for drugs and accommodation. The Hub and related agencies are constantly trying to help resolve this serious issue and encourage youths to take a different path. This isn’t easy as the gangs exploiting the children offer lucrative promises.

The Hub relies on donations to continue its work providing harm reduction for homeless children. We have recently launched a GlobalGiving campaign to give direct support to 200 youths who use our services. Please help to keep the Hub running and donate here https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/support-for-200-homeless-youths-in-bangkok/

The post Update from the Hub July 2022 appeared first on Childline Thailand.

Having run away from home at the age of nine, scrawny and pint-sized Bank*, now 16, is one of many faceless street children who have hit rock bottom since the first wave of Covid-19 began last year.

“Covid-19 has made it impossible for us homeless people to find money to pay for our daily expenses,” said Bank, a native of Phetchaburi province. “My girlfriend is largely dependent on me to provide for her financially. To make sure we don’t end up sleeping on the road I need to generate enough daily income to pay for a room for the night.”

Bank has been self-reliant since coming to Bangkok with a friend in search of adventure as his family life was dysfunctional. To financially support himself, he began mixing with the wrong crowd which then led to a life of crime — two of his most serious charges are drugs and arson. He admits that he took drugs to forget about his troubles, one of which was financial and thus he hadn’t slept in two days.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic continuing, things have only gone from bad to worse.

“Sleeping on the streets today is no longer an option because it is infested with danger. That is the reason I have been pushed to earn a living in whatever manner I can. I have also been put behind bars for this. Society says that being behind bars will mould our behaviour and make us better citizens but I feel that this cannot be generalised. All children are different and respond differently. What I believe youngsters need is nurturing and to feel that someone has your back no matter what.”

It is in hard times such as this that Bank finds refuge at the Hub, an NGO under the Childline Thailand Foundation umbrella, located near the Hua Lamphong train station. It is here that he and others have three meals, do their laundry and are offered counselling among other services tailored towards their well-being.

Bank said the lockdown and curfews implemented earlier became an obstacle to his illegal activities. Now, he tries to earn an honest living by painting window grills and homes when opportunities arise.

“I can make 500 baht a day with my painting jobs but I usually don’t last because I take drugs, which saps my physical and emotional energy to the point that I don’t want to continue. I know the effort that goes into an honest day’s earnings, so I spend more wisely. If I got money illegally, without the blink of an eye I would spend it on drugs. However, I am attempting to give up on it as it is ravaging my body and mind.”

He found himself broke after being released from juvenile detention centre and unable to care for his girlfriend and younger sibling, who are also homeless.

He added that during the pandemic, homeless people don’t dare to venture into public spaces. Of course, they fear contracting the virus like anyone else.

“That is why my crew hangs out at the Hub the entire day and leaves at night. The problem is we are running out of ways to financially support ourselves as businesses have closed. Illegal work is also not as lucrative as it was in the past.

“I would like to know why we [homeless] are not considered for government relief measures during the pandemic? Is it because we are at the bottom of the food chain? I have had sleepless nights thinking about what I should do next to survive. I take out my frustrations on my girlfriend and take drugs as a form of letting off steam.”

Ilya Smirnoff of The Hub said the ongoing pandemic has impacted homeless youngsters at different levels. The street children under their care reside wherever they can and come to them for food, medication and a sympathetic ear.

He said youngsters that work in the sex and drug industry use the money to secure living arrangements in addition to handling daily expenses. They typically live in cheap hotels, paying a couple of hundred baht a day to keep a roof over their heads.

He said they live moment-to-moment. Their daily concern is to find a resting place where they are relatively safe and alone.

Street children, said the social worker, are some of the most vulnerable because they are open to all types of elements out there, mostly the bad and ugly.

“What the third wave has done is exacerbate their already deteriorating financial hardship as most depend on menial work and with small businesses shut they have few options to support themselves.

“When you are homeless, you cannot pick and choose where your income comes from. Menial work here and there is one legal way they generate money. The older ones might get work as security guards in places that require someone to keep away intruders and the more fortunate ones might land a job at a petrol station. They also dabble in sex and drugs to cover daily expenses.”

Smirnoff said that during the third wave, the focus has been on distributing survival bags to homeless youngsters that come to them. The number of street children needing support has doubled while the increase in general services for them has spiked seven to eight fold. This situation has put pressure on their budget as financial support has dwindled.

Smirnoff attributes not having had any Covid-19 cases at the Hub to the fact that the street children isolate themselves from society.

He said the amount of interaction they have with large crowds is relatively low and as long as no one gets it within their circle of friends, they are safe from the virus.

“These kids are very tough. They live on the streets. You don’t survive on the streets if you are not quite strong physically. Their immune system may not be strong but it is robust. Even if they are asymptomatic, they are socially isolated from the outside world as they don’t interact with people from the various Covid-19 clusters we hear about.

“No one comes close to a street kid, so it is like social distancing by default.

“However what the pandemic has done is put them into deeper isolation from society than ever before. They have just become even less significant.”

With the end of the outbreak nowhere in sight, Bank would like government agencies to consider the plight of the homeless during the pandemic.

“Society shuns us because of the way we look and our mannerisms and clothing, so it is not possible to ask for a roof over my head at government-run social service agencies which are already full.”

*Not his realname.

Originally published in the Bangkok Post 17th May 2021 https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2116943/helping-the-helpless

Cover photo ‘Homeless people around Victory Monument’ by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul

The post Helping the Helpless appeared first on Childline Thailand.

Meanwhile in Thailand, the Child Rights Coalition surveyed 28 member charities and found that many were deeply concerned about the social and economic impact of Covid19. Childline Thailand runs a call centre that normally averages approximately 600 calls and messages each month. In the days after the lockdown begun in April the centre has so far counselled 1195 children (1st- 21st April 2020). For a small charity this increase has put additional pressure on staff and funding and the foundation doesn’t receive any government support.

Childline Thailand’s centre for children in street situations (The Hub Saidek) has also seen a rise in demand for its services, with more children visiting the centre for support. In response the charity created an emergency appeal to provide Survival Boxes to homeless children which contain masks, soap and gel. The Hub also provides daily meals, showers and mental health support for 110 youths.

In times of crisis it’s really important to know that “there is someone there that cares” Childline and the Hub that “someone” for children. We care, we are there 24/7, and we are are always ready to help.

CTF Director Ilya Smirnoff

Whilst life has been inconvenienced for most of us, it is the most vulnerable members of society that will suffer the most. Childline helplines around the world provide a free service to millions of children and they require support to remain viable.

Please donate to Childline Thailand’s Covid-19 campaign https://childlinethailand.org/survival-box/

Follow us on social media:

Facebook @Childlinethailand

Twitter, Instagram, Line @saidek1387

The post New Challenges for Charities during the Covid-19 Pandemic appeared first on Childline Thailand.

A child-centered refuge for Bangkok’s vulnerable children

In response to the large volume of calls Childline Thailand Foundation was receiving from young people in street situations in and around Bangkok, paired with the weakening government support available for these young people, in 2011 Childline Thailand Foundation founded the Hub Saidek. Working alongside the callcentre (Saidek 1387), the Hub offers young people a place to attend to their basic needs as well as longer-term care, counselling and support. Amongst the bustling streets of Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong district. Since 2011, the center – known locally as Hub Saidek – has been a place of refuge for homeless and vulnerable young people living on the city streets. Wayu, 20, came to Bangkok from the Eastern province, Isan, 12 years ago. He arrived as an eight-year old and has since been living on the streets. Wayu was introduced to the Hub, aged 12, by friends who, like him, slept on the platforms of Hua Lamphong, the city’s largest rail station. For Wayu and the other young people who spend time at Childline Thailand Foundation’s ‘drop in’ center, the Hub offers a much needed break from the difficult and often dangerous conditions that young people in street situations face in the city. The young people can eat, wash, charge their phones, rest and socialize in a friendly and safe environment. Under-18s can stay overnight and trained staff provide advice, medical and social interventions.

The Hub however aims to provide far more than a brief escape from daily hardships. If they wish, young people can enter non-formal education at the Hub and upstairs there is a classroom equipped with stationary and computers. Talking to Wayu it becomes clear that the opportunity to educate oneself – a safe place to do your homework and get some help – is one of the main reasons he has been coming to the center for eight years. He hopes one day to study farming and raise livestock of his own. Crucially, the Hub allows children to form close relationships with other young people and staff. Wayu describes how for a long time he “did not like to talk to many people, especially adults” but that the staff at the Hub, always kind, sensible and listening, had helped him to “interact more with others”. The staff at the Hub put their relationships with the children at the very heart of the work they do. Kawu, manager at the Hub since 2018, says that the staff “work according to the needs of the children” and that there is a need for more than just education and shelter, there is a “need for love, care and companionship”. Young people in street situations have often come from violent homes and face abuse, addiction and exploitation in their daily lives. The role of the staff as trusted adult confidants – someone who listens and cares – is thus extremely important. Kawu says that forming such close relationships is not quick or easy but, “when [the children’s] problems become discussions, when the walls begin to come down”, it is the most rewarding part of their work.

A child centered approach:

Many shelters for Thailand’s significant population of vulnerable young people – there is an estimated 20,000 children living on the country’s streets – impose strict regimes upon young people. Corporal punishment is common and rules and regulations restrict freedom, opportunity and individuality. Such conditions has meant that many homeless children actively avoid shelters and run away from them when they can. Fon, 27, has volunteered at the Hub for three months and, homeless herself as a child, can attest to the counter-productive nature of many shelters for young people around the country. At 15, having been sent to a closed shelter on the coast, Fon ran away from the establishment, which she described as “allowing no freedom” and resembling a “jail”.

In contrast, Childline Thailand Foundation, at both their call center and the Hub, is driven by a child centered approach which places individuality at the heart of their work. The staff at the Hub, rather than imposing strict rules and timetables, attempt to guide young people in making their own decisions. As Kawu emphasized, the work at the Hub is guided by a “respect for (the young people’s) freedoms, children’s rights and dignity”. These freedoms include the freedom to plan their own days. The young people at the Hub are able to choose when they come and go, when they interact with others and when they enter informal education. This is not to say that there are not rules and violent or inappropriate behavior is met with a restriction of access to the Hub and it’s facilities. Kawu notes that, while such approach is difficult at times, and considered a risk by others, the staff at the center have seen that it works. Young people respond to the climate of freedom, responsibility and advice and seek to improve their own situations. Young people are encouraged to see the consequences of their actions, both for themselves and others. Kawu uses the example of infectious diseases, which are common among the poor and homeless in Thailand. Young people are encouraged to acknowledge that ignoring such diseases, delaying a visit to a health care professional, will have potentially negative effects for themselves and those around them.

Gai, 14, is mother to a six-month old child. As we speak her child is across the table, babbling happily in the arms of staff member Ooh. Gai has been living on and off the streets since she was four and began coming to the Hub after being introduced by a friend. The Hub helped Gai throughout her pregnancy and, since her child’s birth, Gai says she has learnt a lot about motherhood from the staff, as well as important information on sexual and reproductive health. In the future Gai hopes to be a P.E teacher. Many of these children are without the documentation necessary to enter formal education and employment. This is where the callcentre can provide further help – by contacting the necessary authorities on behalf of the child in order and to guide through the administrative process. In this way the call centre and the Hub work in tandem to ensure all young people are provided with the same opportunities to learn and develop.

The Hub makes a genuine difference in the lives of young people like Gai, Fon and Wayu. The center offers the children shelter, food and a space in which they can attend to their most basic needs. More importantly, the Hub is a space in which children and young people are able to develop important relationships, built on trust and care, with both staff members and other youths. They become part of a community and the community looks after its own. For children who have so often lacked stability and support in their lives, the benefit of such a space cannot be underestimated.

The post A refuge for Bangkok’s vulnerable children appeared first on Childline Thailand.